A year ago this month, Susie rushed me to the hospital at 1 a.m. because my pulse was racing.

The emergency room staff hooked me to machines, stuck needles in my arm and started doing tests.

Four hours later, my heart rate and blood pressure were normal (they never found out what caused that problem), but they did run a scan that found a problem they had not anticipated.

Their test showed I had a large (2.5-inch) tumor on my kidney.

This result started a year-long series of tests, doctor visits and, finally, surgery and recovery.

First, there was an appointment with my primary care physician, I guess so she could get her money. She sent me to a local urologist. I was forwarded on to Dr. Scott Farnham in Indianapolis. I heard he was one of the top five kidney surgeons in the country. He ran more tests.

I was told if I had to have any kind of cancer, kidney cancer was the best. It was usually localized, very slow growing and easy (?) to remove, with few problems afterward.

My tumor was actually on the outside of the kidney, fastened low down, with nothing around close to cause complications. The doctor said he could probably do the surgery robotically, without having to slice and dice (my words).

Surgery would be late September or early October. I would probably have to rearrange my schedule because I had an outdoors writers conference in both September and October.

Finally, a date was set for Nov. 5. We were at the first conference in Wisconsin in mid-September when the office called and rescheduled the surgery for Nov. 12.

August found me at the hospital in Indy for a biopsy. This was supposed to be quick and easy. They didn’t know me well.

My blood pressure was high, and the doctor had to inject something in my IV to bring it down fast. They didn’t know I have a problem with needles and often my blood pressure drops and my heart rate increases (Vaso Vagel Syndrome?). The biopsy was over and I was returned to my room.

A nurse sat beside me with a timer and had to check my blood pressure every five minutes for an hour and then every 15 minutes.

It took four hours for my blood pressure to return to normal. The results said my tumor was cancer.

A pre-surgery conference was set for late October.

I met with several of Dr. Farnham’s staff and discussed all of my current and past medical problems. I had met with an endocrinologist soon after my diagnosis. He put me on insulin so my blood sugar could be quickly adjusted to make the operation and recovery safer.

One problem taken care of.

From earlier surgeries, we found I had trouble waking up from anesthesia and couldn’t breathe on my own for several hours. We learned the artery in my neck where an IV needle was used in my shoulder surgery didn’t close shut after the needle was removed. I was leaking blood into my neck every time my heart beat. It took another surgery to place a stent to plug the hole.

We went over these and other problems one at a time, and they explained what would be done to eliminate those problems in my upcoming surgery.

I was as ready as I could be.

On the morning of my surgery, I lay on a gurney with an IV hanging out of my arm.

A doctor came in to talk to me. He told me he was aware of my problems and had taken steps to make sure they didn’t happen this time. We talked hunting and fishing as I was wheeled to the operating room. He had me totally relaxed when I arrived. The next thing I remember, I woke up in my room.

The hospital stay was somewhat blurred, I imagine from the pain medicine.

I had needles, drains and catheters snaking from various body parts. The surgeon had talked to Susie and our daughter after the procedure, but I was still out. He said everything went perfectly, the tumor was completely gone and no further treatment was needed.

I will return once a year for a scan to make sure everything is going as planned.

I have been home for more than a week. I’ve started driving again.

Dr. Farnham called me at home a week after I went home. I told him I thought I would be back to normal by now. He informed me I had just had major surgery and it would take a while to come back.

He took me off the narcotic pain med and said I could continue on over-the-counter stuff if needed. I’m still sore, but that was expected.

I had a great group of doctors and nurses taking care of me, and Susie helping me get my shoes and socks on and picking up anything on the floor I needed. (I still have trouble bending over without hurting.)

I had the members of our church — and several of my writer friends had their churches in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama — praying for me. Apparently, God listened to all those prayers and he still has plans for me.

The author may be reached at [email protected].